While still in his senior year of college, oboist Zac Hammond was already a professional, serving as Acting Principal Oboe of the Syracuse Symphoria. Now the principal oboist of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Hammond was kind enough to talk with Classical Conditioning about his experiences as a young orchestral professional, advice for young people embarking on professional auditions, and what young musicians can contribute to the changes facing the classical music world.

CC: Tell us about yourself!

ZH: I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and began playing the oboe when I was in fifth grade with my elementary school’s music program. I began lessons with a local musician when I was in seventh grade, but I didn’t really become serious about it until around my sophomore year of high school, when I began studying with Robert Morgan, the solo English horn and assistant principal oboist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. After high school, I did my undergrad at the Eastman School of Music, studying under Richard Killmer. I also studied Baroque oboe with Geoffrey Burgess and was a part of Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program.

I was very lucky during my senior year at Eastman to be asked to play Acting Principal Oboe with Symphoria (formerly the Syracuse Symphony). I was also a regular substitute with the Rochester Philharmonic and a few other groups in upstate New York. I was later offered an official contract with Symphoria and decided after I was done at Eastman that I would remain in upstate New York and continue playing with them. However, I also decided to begin taking more professional orchestra auditions, and I actually ended up winning the Principal Oboe spot with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra last fall. So, in January of 2015 I moved to South Carolina to begin my new job in Charleston, and I have been there ever since.

Fun facts: I have an intense love for pickles (and I love that fried pickles are really common in Charleston), and I played football (center, specifically) for many years growing up and into high school.

CC: How, if at all, has being a young professional affected your experience in the orchestra?

ZH: Being one of the youngest members of the professional groups that I play with has actually proven to be a pretty positive thing most of the time. I think with orchestras so eager to find ways to attract younger audiences, they are generally very receptive to working with younger musicians. Of course, being young and new in a group with musicians who have been playing together for decades requires you to be aware of the traditions and personalities of the specific members of the group. I find that a huge part of my job is related to getting along with people.

CC: There’s a lot of dialogue in the classical music world about making the genre accessible to younger audiences. What do you think young professionals can contribute to this dialogue?

ZH: I think young classical musicians are pretty crucial when it comes to increasing the accessibility of classical music. Because music is so easily accessed now via things like YouTube and Spotify, we need to start to shift the way that people listen to and experience classical music. It is our job to remind people that the music industry is drastically changing and we need to make sure that classical music changes with it and doesn’t remain stuck in the past. We also can help to make sure that the classical concert experience adapts to the times. I think the idea of getting dressed up and going to the symphony on a Saturday night to listen to a traditional program of classical music is quickly becoming outdated. Young musicians can help to push administrations to tailor classical music to things that actually appeal to younger audiences (current artists, mixing genres, allowing drinking/socializing/dancing, etc.).

I’M GOING TO ITALY! For the next three weeks I’ll be in Siena playing chamber music and speaking Italian, and I am absurdly excited. This will be my last post for a month, then, so for this week’s SUGGESTED LISTENING for the CLASSICAL MUSIC SKEPTIC I thought I’d leave you all with some of my favorite random Italian oboe music! I’ve chosen five pieces that are short and sweet and totally accessible for the Skeptic, but also kind of obscure. Unless you frequent oboe recitals (and, let’s be real — who does?), I bet these will be new to you. I hope you enjoy them! Arrivederci!

Cimarosa: Oboe Concerto in C Major

Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) was an opera composer — he wrote over eighty, the most famous being Il Matrimonio Segreto— and his operatic style is clear in this concerto. It’s quirky and jaunty and very lyrical, with sudden stylistic changes swinging from a comfortable larghetto to a showy allegro to a mournful sicilana to a perky allegro giusto. The video above is on the older side, from a 1959 recording of oboist André Lardrot with the Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. The sound is a bit different from what modern oboists strive for, but it’s gorgeous nonetheless, capturing all the operatic energy of Cimarosa’s weird little masterpiece. Continue reading →

This is a great loss for the oboe world, the music world, and the whole world. Though I never knew Mr. Bennett personally, he has been a student, teacher, and mentor to several of my own friends, colleagues, and teachers. He was a kind person and spectacular musician. His artistry absolutely sparkled in the orchestra, and his performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony remains one of those few moments that truly inspire me as an oboist.

I am so humbled to belong to the community of oboists and orchestral musicians whose outpouring of kindness and condolences reminds me why I love what I do. The music world is so small and so close-knit, each of its members only six degrees separated from the next — such that the loss of one deeply affects all of us.